Optical scopes are used as an inspection tool to view inside an apparatus such as a turbomachine or engine. Optical scopes, such as borescopes, include a removable optical adapter tip at an end of the optical scope. The optical adapter is generally suited for various purposes, such as providing a discrete direction of view. The optical scope, including the optical adapter, is ingressed into the apparatus for viewing and assessing internal components.
In order to allow for periodic inspection of internal parts of the engine (e.g., blades, vanes, shrouds, disks, frames, etc.), borescope ports are typically provided in the engine casings and/or frames. Such ports allow optical borescope instruments to be inserted into the core engine to enable a visual inspection of the engine to be performed without requiring disassembly of the engine components. However, once an instrument has been inserted into a borescope port, minimal information is typically available to an inspector regarding the actual position of the instrument within the engine, leading to errors in measurements and reducing the efficiency of performing the visual inspection.
Adding to these inefficiencies, many borescope examinations are controlled physically by the inspector. For example, the inspector inserts and manipulates the borescope to achieve the desired view of the apparatus. This manual control of the borescope can lead to irregular and/or inconsistent images captured during the insertion of the borescope probe, thereby reducing the quality of the borescope inspection. Further, trial and error of the human operator can lead to longer inspection times, increased maintenance costs, loss or damage of the borescope within the apparatus, and/or damage to the apparatus. Additionally, borescope inspection of an engine often must wait for the engine to cool sufficiently from its previous flight. For instance, the engine may be too hot for the human operator, the materials constituting the probe, or both.
As such, there is a need for a system and method of borescope examination that may mitigate borescope insertion trial and error, improve inspection quality, improve inspection time and cost, and mitigate losses and damages to the borescope or surrounding apparatus.